Festival of Fortune
by God Boy's Girl
Summary: While attending a festival with her friends, Sakura finds herself in the company of a stranger. This stranger seems to know her and relays an ominous message, sending chills up her spine. Still, she disregards it until she starts to realize that this person wasn't joking, which could result in deadly consequences.
1. The Festival

Well, everyone, I am back. :) Uploads may be a little slow, however, due to the fact that my access to internet is limited. Still, I will be continuously working on this and uploading as often as possible. So, hopefully, you will find the wait worth it.

Anyway, this is not a super happy story, so you have been warned. Also, I didn't add anyone other than Sakura in the description because I don't want anything to be spoiled.

So, without further delay, I will allow you to continue. Enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto Franchise, Sakura, any characters involved, or otherwise. The Naruto Universe belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

~ Shebby

* * *

><p>She felt her will snap as tears began to fall from her face. She knew it was over as her bones began to break. From her fingertips to her toes, everything was falling apart; both literally and metaphorically. Her clothes began to fade away, her heart began to slow, and everything became dim. Her eyes started to close, and Sakura knew that this was the end for her.<p>

One Year Earlier

Sakura smirked, rolling her eyes at her teammates. Sai was mocking Naruto, as per usual, while Naruto tried his best to keep his cool. Of course, Sakura knew, if Naruto was _trying_ to keep his cool, he was faking it. Every time.

Kakashi, also as usual, was nowhere to be found. While they didn't particularly need him, it would have been nice to see him once in a while.

Now officially nineteen, Sakura found herself walking with more pride than she had just a few years ago. She found no trace of her original self inside her, or so she liked to pretend. She could admit that she was ashamed of what she'd used to be; a little brat with an oversized crush. She felt her heart sink at the thought. Sasuke.

She did miss her former teammate. Although her infatuation with him had faded, the memory of him still stung a little. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, before being dragged out of her reverie by Sai. "Sakura-san?"

She looked at him, confused. "Hmm?"

"Gah! _Sakura_, when we're in the middle of a serious debate, you're supposed to answer if we have a question!"

Sakura sighed. "Sorry, Naruto," she said, stretching. "I think I just need to go home, guys. I'll see you tomorrow, all right?"

Naruto groaned. "All right, fine," he stated sharply, crossing his arms. "That sounds about right, anyway. You're always ditching us."

Sakura smiled apologetically. "It'll be all right, Naruto," she stated, before turning. "I'll see you later."

She walked off before Naruto could actually say anything else about her leaving, yawning softly to herself. The sun was beginning to set, anyway, and she didn't really want to be out past dark. It was growing close to festival time, so she didn't want to have to struggle to get home.

By the time she made it to her apartment complex, the sound of the festival could be heard without a problem. She frowned at the idea of being kept awake at all hours of the night because of the festival's horrid location issues. Sighing, she unlocked her door and walked inside, setting her things down on the tiny counter in the kitchen.

She turned to go towards her bedroom, only to fall short and emit a scream as a figure entered her sight less than a foot away from her. She reeled back, about to send a fatal punch into the intruder, before actually realizing who it was.

"Whoa, forehead! You looked like you were about to kill me!" Ino snapped, shaking her finger at her friend. "That's a big no-no for someone who's being kidnapped, ya know? Now hurry up and get ready."

Sakura frowned, staring at her friend like she was stupid. "Why would I hurry up and get ready to be kidnapped?"

Ino shrugged, giggling some. "I don't know, but honestly, how many kidnappings do you hear of where you actually get to get ready for it? Come on, forehead, and get ready. We have to get going."

Shaking her head, Sakura merely sidestepped her friend and made her way to her room. "I don't think so. I'm not going anywhere unless I actually know where we're going, anyway."

"Aw, you never let anything be just a surprise," Ino whined. Following her friend into the bedroom, she crossed her arms. "We're going to the festival! I even hooked us up with dates!"

Sakura shook her head. "I have no interest in going there. Besides, the last time you hooked me up with someone, they were _way_ less cute compared to your date."

Ino grinned. "Hey, now, I had a plan for _that_ date, and I promise that this one is more desirable! C'mon, _please_? I even have a kimono picked out for you! And a mask. You can wear a Kyuubi mask!"

Sakura glared at her. "You _know_ Naruto's walking around that festival in that mask, so I'm not wearing that."

Ino smiled. "I thought not. I brought a cute kitty one instead, anyway. Please, Sakura?"

Sakura groaned. "All right, let me see the dress; _then_ I'll decide if I'm going."

Sakura had never been more sure in her life that she was going to kill Ino. The blonde, however, seemed oblivious to the threat emanating from her friend. Instead, she had her arm linked around Kiba, her eyes excited and happy. Sakura, personally, wasn't as enthused about her date. Of course, Sai was a very _eccentric_ man, but no, she didn't really want to be on a set-up date with him. The man looked almost equally as uncomfortable, but sent an almost genuine smile in Sakura's direction regardless. He held his arm out to her awkwardly, and she repressed a sigh as she walked over to him and took his arm in hers. She felt awkward, and could only imagine the stories this would encourage from her peers lounging around.

Ino giggled, her dark blue kimono accentuating her hair and eyes beautifully. While Sakura disagreed in her taste in men on occasion (this one in particular), she had to admit that her fashion sense was pretty good. The pink, blue, and green kimono the woman had picked out for Sakura was very nice, and Sakura felt good in it. Of course, to waste a decent appearance on a date she wasn't particularly interested in was a shame she concluded.

The next twenty minutes was spent with Sakura walking alongside Sai, looking at all of the lights, decorations, and stands that had been set up in a few days. Ino and Kiba, as unlikely as it was, seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit on their little date. Sakura wondered what had caused Ino to accept the man as a decent date, but she did appear to be genuinely happy. The pink-haired girl chanced a brief glance at her own date, only to catch him looking at her. She felt her face heat up a little.

"Are you enjoying yourself a little, Sakura-san?"

Sakura offered him a light smile. "Yes, I am. It's a nice evening. I'm actually pretty happy that I didn't stay inside all night."

Sai nodded. "As am I. I had no intention of coming today. Ino-san said I had a date already set up . . . I didn't know it would be you."

Sakura was a little surprised. Ino hadn't even told him that she would be his date? She almost felt bad for the man. What if he hadn't been excited about it being her? She snapped the thought out of her head. Why did she suddenly care?

Before she could dwell on it anymore or give the man a response, an obnoxious voice rang out.

"Sakura-chan! Sai-baka!"

Sai and Sakura turned to cast a glare at Naruto almost simultaneously, although Sakura fell short of hers as she saw a beet red Hinata trailing along after the blonde. Sakura smiled. It was about damn time Naruto took the poor girl out.

"What is it, Naruto?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously. Naruto merely emitted a wide grin.

"I didn't know you two were together."

"We're not together," Sakura stated, fighting back an irritated blush. "We're just hanging out tonight. We got set up by Ino."

"Yes, that is all," Sai replied calmly. Sakura felt a jab of guilt. She hadn't really thought about what Sai might think about this evening. She hoped he didn't think it was actually a date.

Naruto eyed them cautiously, but finally nodded. "All right, then, fine! Sai! C'mon, Hinata-chan and I are going to go to the art and puppet show. You wanna come?"

Sai frowned, glancing at Sakura. It was clear in his eyes that he was interested in it. "What about Sakura-san?"

Naruto huffed. "Yeah right – Sakura-chan never goes! She's scared of the puppets 'r something."

Sakura glared at him, the vein in her forehead throbbing. "I am _not_ scared of them! I just don't like them," she snapped, before looking at Sai. "If you want to go, go ahead. I'll just wander around and look at the festival designs until the show is over. It'll be fine, I promise – besides, there's Tenten. I'll go and visit with her."

Sai eyed her carefully for a moment, a little hesitant to leave her, before nodding. "All right. Have fun, m'kay?"

Sakura shook her head in agreement, watching as they left before turning to walk away. She had no interest in visiting with Tenten—the girl was nice, but boring, really—so she headed towards a different part of the festival. She sighed to herself, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of her face. Her hair felt odd being pinned up, but she had worked hard to make it look nice. She huffed in agitation as someone shoved into her side without paying any attention. Turning to toss a rude comment in their direction, she was taken back a little at the sight of the person wearing their mask completely on their face and looking at her. It was a little disconcerting, but she didn't let it distract her for long as she realized they still hadn't apologized.

"Watch it," she snapped, before turning and starting to walk away. She really hated rude people, and now her arm stung. She glanced down at it, only to find her kimono torn a little and a slight bit of blood oozing from a tiny cut on her arm. She huffed. Who the hell wore sharp objects on them during a festival? Of course, this was a ninja village, so she felt stupid for wondering. She reached over the wound and healed it without trouble, a little relieved when the annoying sting finally went away, and still annoyed at the person who had run into her.

Brushing it off after another moment or so, however, she resumed her calm stroll through the streets, avoiding people passing by and talking to one another. She sighed and turned a corner, headed towards an old koi pond that wasn't too far away. Upon arriving at it, she smiled. The festival decorators had even lit this up, which was nice because she could see the oversized fish swimming around now. She made her way to the bench and sat down, watching the fish swim around her. She briefly wished that she had some fish food with her, but made a note to herself to bring some later.

She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there before she began to feel like she wasn't alone. She felt an unhappy aura nearby, but tried to brush it off. It was probably just someone trying to sneak away from the festival for some alone time. Not too far off from what she was doing.

Before long, however, the presence became a little more noticeable. Her ninja training had Sakura sure that there was someone lurking around behind the bushes. She frowned, uncomfortable with the situation. Finally, she sighed, looking over at the bushes. "If you're going to be there for a while, you might as well come out and show me who you are. I don't care much for peeping toms, and I'm not above punching someone while in a kimono."

She knew her tone sounded fearless—she'd worked hard a while back to make sure she could handle situations like these with a calm display—but inside, she was nervous. Watching the bush, she saw the leaves tremble before a figure broke out. Immediately, she recognized the mask. This was the person who she had run into earlier.

After looking at them for a long, silent moment, Sakura realized that she was wrong. No, something was different this time. The mask was altered. There was only one eye hole, and the person almost seemed a little less . . . Masculine. Sakura frowned. It was a male, she could tell, but they had intensely long hair—blonde hair, at that. After a second, though, she realized that they had been in their positions without words for too long. She narrowed her eyes at the man.

"What do you want?"

The figure shifted, and Sakura felt a little pain where her cut had been. She disregarded it, staring at the person who stood nearby. She cleared her throat.

"What do you _want_?" she repeated, hiding the small quiver in her voice.

"I want," the figure drawled, its voice more familiar than Sakura wanted to admit, although she could not place it, "to make sure you understand what it is we are capable of, heh."

Sakura felt her brow furrow in both confusion and worry. She stood slowly, staring the figure down as her fists began to charge with chakra. "What does _that_ mean?"

"It means, hmm . . . That you took something from _me_, and I've made arrangements to make sure _you_ get to suffer, too, because of the stupidity I must deal with daily because of you, hm."

Sakura began to glare at the man, balling her fists up. "What the hell is that suppo—"

Sakura didn't get to finish her question. The bushes rustled to her right and she turned to look out of reflex, only to catch glimpse of something red and feel danger well up inside her.

Her gut told her this would not end well.

* * *

><p>Well, there you go! Hope you enjoyed! Reviews would be wonderful, so let me know what you think!<p> 


	2. The Bird

All right, here's Chapter Two! This one's a little short, but I think it'll be worth the while. I'm doing my best to keep all characters in character, so bear with me. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, any of it's characters, and am making no profit by uploading this story or any of it's chapters.

* * *

><p>Before she could piece together what had just happened, she found herself blinking dry eyes and shaking her head out of a nearly daze like state. She frowned, rubbing her head and looking down at the swirling fish.<p>

She was confused. Now she was no longer standing; she felt normal and even her blood pressure had slowed. It was as though what had just happened hadn't actually happened at all. She huffed. Had she really just spaced out that terribly? She was going to have to start practicing on her attention span.

"Sakura-san."

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sakura flinched. She looked over at Naruto, Hinata, and Sai, immediately knowing which had said which. She waved at them, standing up. She felt a little shook up from what she'd just—imagined, she guessed—went through. Not allowing it to show on her face, she rejoined her friends and took Sai's arm, walking with the small group.

Throughout the rest of their little outing, Sakura found her heart skipping a beat at every bird-shaped mask she came across. She tried to force herself to remain calm, trying to decide why everything was starting to bother her so much from just a daydream. Once the evening finally drew to a close, everyone began to disperse. Sakura felt a little relieved, having decided that what she needed was just a good night's sleep.

Sai had begun to walk Sakura home, but upon passing his house, Sakura convinced him that she was more than capable of walking herself home. He nodded, offering her a polite goodbye before disappearing inside his apartment. Sakura sighed, turning to finish her own stroll.

She kept an eye on the shadows nearby, trying to remain in as much light as possible. She felt her breath hitch each time a shadow would move, but she quickly realized that she was being ridiculous. She knew better than to let her emotions overpower her sense of reality, so she turned back to her path and forced herself to focus on getting home.

The thoughts of the being that'd approached her—in what she could only assume to be a dream—still haunted her, although she tried to deny it to herself.

Upon arriving at her apartment, she walked inside and shut the door, relieved to have made it home. She glanced around, making sure that Ino hadn't snuck inside to find out how the evening with Sai had gone, before making her way to her room to change out of the clothes and get some sleep.

She slept restlessly through the night, and awoke early at the sound of someone knocking on her door. She blinked drowsily, trying to decide whether the knock was real or not, and if she actually _had_ to get up. She sighed, sitting up as the door produced the same noise it had before. She got up and pulled a robe on, making her way to the door. She wasn't sure what she'd been dreaming about to keep her sleep so troubled, but she was sure it was probably just due to the uneasiness she'd had the night before.

Sakura wasn't surprised when she opened the door to find Ino on the other side. She sighed, looking over at the clock. It was seven in the morning, and she really didn't feel like dealing with the blonde at the moment. Still, she invited her in and listened to her explain how wonderful of an evening she'd had with Kiba.

Sakura only half listened to her friend as she began to make herself a pot of coffee and some toast. She was on vacation for the week, and had hoped to at least have _some_ amount of sleeping in accomplished. With friends like hers, though, she decided to deem that impossible.

Her attention shifted back to Ino when the woman asked her about her time with Sai. Sakura shrugged.

"He's still the same old Sai, and still the same old friend. Can't say anything changed, really."

Ino frowned. "Really? No goodnight kiss or anything?"

Sakura shook her head, a little amused at Ino's childishness. The blonde huffed, clearly a little aggravated. Sakura was even pretty sure she heard 'two-bit idiot' muttered under the woman's breath, but didn't push it.

Sakura sat around and talked with Ino for a good hour or two before the blonde decided it was time to go back to the flower shop and take care of business since her mother was too busy trying to gather new clients to handle the actual shop at the moment. Sakura bid her a kind good bye before shutting the door, stretching. She yawned, heading back into her bedroom.

She emitted a shriek as she stared at her bed.

The sheets were stained red, a tattered bird was on her pillow, and a familiar, disconcerting mask hung above her headboard.

Sakura felt her eyes well up in fear, horror, and anger. Someone had been inside her house, and neither she nor Ino—both trained shinobi—had detected them! She made her way cautiously to her bed, her senses on complete alert, staring at the poor dead bird. Who would do such a terrible thing?

And why would they leave it here on her bed?

She stared up at the mask hanging on her headboard and felt her stomach drop while her head spun. The mask was the same one from the night before, and it was just as creepy despite the difference in lighting compared to the dark festival. She felt like crying. Whoever this was had invaded her personal space.

Plus, they'd ruined some damn good sheets.

Sakura examined her apartment thoroughly before making her way to grab some gloves and clean up the mess. A flood of her nightmares from the night before began to appear, including flashes of the masked figure that had approached her, the unhappily familiar voice, and the warning they had offered her. She scowled as she picked up the bird and threw it into a garbage bag, feeling sorry for the poor thing.

If someone was playing a prank on her, it wasn't funny.

After getting her sheets together and setting them in the wash, she walked back to her room and got the mask off of the wall. She examined it, hoping it would give her a little insight to who the person behind it might have been. The material was expensive, she knew, but she had no clue who could afford it here in Konoha—other than some obvious people, like Tsunade, but they wouldn't do that to her—so she found herself just as confused as she had been the night before. There was one thing she knew for certain, though.

She had definitely not been hallucinating the night before, and she could feel in her gut that she was in trouble.

* * *

><p>Sakura locked her apartment hesitantly by the time she was ready to leave it. She had kept the mask instead of discarding it, but had hidden it so no one else would find it—she figured in her bottom dresser drawer was a good spot, considering no one would go through there without a punch to the sternum. She thought that she may need it later, although with no leads, she had no clue why.<p>

Running a hand through her hair, she decided to put the incident behind her. There was going to be no point in telling Naruto or Sai about any of it, because she knew that Naruto would overreact and Sai wouldn't, which would cause problems. She sighed, starting to look for her friends. She wanted to find some sort of distraction so she could have a good vacation instead of worrying about some idiot who thought it was funny to slaughter birds and leave them as presents for her.

Sakura smirked a little to herself—maybe her visitor was just a cat. She banished the thought, though; it was a little morbid, even she had to admit it.

She ended up walking through the village for a good little while before finding Naruto where she probably should have looked in the beginning; Ichiraku Ramen.

She took a seat beside him at the stool and greeted him, which he returned eagerly with a mouthful of noodles. Sakura disregarded the awkwardness of how terrible he looked like that, and started to ask him how his night with Hinata had gone.

She put her all into listening to what Naruto was saying. She was actually proud of him as he explained what had gone on—he'd taken her to dinner after the festival, walked her home, and had even gotten a goodnight kiss.

Sakura had had to force the last bit of information out of him, as well as the fact that he'd initiated it, which Sakura was happy about because she knew the Hyuuga would never do such a thing.

She congratulated him and asked him a few more questions, doing anything to disregard the awkward feeling that she was being watched from a distance. She forced herself not to look around; she didn't want to put out any kind of uneasy vibes so that whoever was doing this wouldn't think they were getting to her.

She couldn't feel any unusual chakra patterns nearby, so she couldn't tell if she was just imagining things. She was beginning to get a headache.

The headache became the last of her problems when a kunai landed between her and Naruto, a gleaming red tag attached to the end of it.

* * *

><p><em>That's the end of chapter two! Reviews with suggestions or CC are appreciated. :)_

_Shebby_


End file.
